Itt Hartford To Lay Off 300 Nationwide

Itt Hartford To Lay Off 300 Nationwide

ITT Hartford Insurance Group will lay off about 300 people nationwide during the next six months and consolidate some operations in a bid to become more efficient, company officials said Wednesday.

They did not say how many of the layoffs would be in Connecticut, where the company employs about 9,000 people. Fewer than 200 received notices Wednesday.

ITT Hartford did not release many details about what the changes will mean or how the company will look once they are completed. Most of the changes should be in place by next spring.

The changes are the result of a four-month evaluation by the internationally known McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm that completed a study of ITT Corp.'s eight major divisions in late September.

"This is an interim report," said Sue Honeyman, a company spokeswoman. "Some actions will be put in place immediately. Others will be coming in time."

"We have to remain competitive," Honeyman said. "That means looking at our operations and trying to determine what is essential and what isn't. Everything was examined very closely."

The first people to lose their jobs as part of the plan were notified Wednesday, but will remain with the company for at least 60 days, Honeyman said. The exact number of layoffs will not be known until the plan is completed, but company officials said they anticipate to release about 300 of the national work force of about 20,000 employees.

The number of layoffs is relatively small, compared with the sharp cuts other insurance companies in the area have made during the past few years.

James Ramenda, an industry analyst, said ITT Hartford came out of the 1980s better than many of its competitors because it avoided heavy investmnents in the treacherous real estate and junk bond markets that quickly turned sour.

Still, investors today are looking closely at the size and

efficiency of companies, said Ramenda, of Northington Partners in Avon.

"I think there's an expectation today that companies have to get leaner," Ramenda said. "I think that's pretty much across the economy."

Mike Albanese, an analyst with the A.M. Best Co. in New Jersey, said insurance companies have been pressured by weak economic conditions, declining interest rates and increased competition in the industry.

"Many companies, in order to make themselves stronger players ... have taken very close looks at their expense structures and the efficiencies within their various business units," Albanese said. "That is not something unique to The Hartford itself, but is something we have seen in the insurance industry over the last couple of years."

ITT Corp. is expecting to save more than $100 million a year after the plan is implemented at the corporation's operations, said Jim Gallagher, a spokesman for the parent company.

"It's obviously an opportunity for us to take a look at how we're conducting our business," Gallagher said. "This is 1993, and all of our industries across the board are extremely competitive on a worldwide basis."

In addition to ITT Hartford, ITT Corp. owns the Sheraton hotel chain, a financial services company and a variety of manufacturing firms.

At ITT Hartford, the McKinsey & Co. study evaluated a number of operations, including actuarial services, corporate relations, government affairs, human resources, investment, law and security. Outside services were also studied.

The changes announced Wednesday include the consolidation of the company's printing facilities, restructuring of the human resources department, relocation of investment operations and the streamlining of several departments.

"Insurance is probably under heavier pressure than it ever has before as an industry," Honeyman said. "In order to remain competitive, you have to keep your costs down."

Although ITT Hartford expects to lay off about 300 workers, some might be able to get other positions in the company, Honeyman said. The company runs a priority placement pool, a program that helps employees find new jobs inside or outside the company.

"We don't simply escort them out the door," Honeyman said. "We try to find them jobs within the company. They're known quantities. We try to make matches wherever possible."

Honeyman said that fewer than 200 employees received layoff notices Wednesday, although she did not release an exact figure